Plastic Cards - What Thickness Is Right For You?

So you've decided that plastic cards are the solution for your company's needs. Maybe you're starting up a loyalty program, membership program, or are launching a new marketing campaign. Something a lot of card buyers don't think about is the thickness of their cards.

30 mil cards are the standard. Credit cards are 30 mils thick. (Side note - in the card business, a mil is not short for millimeter; a mil is an old printing term). But don't get hung up on the 30 mil thickness just because that's what everyone else is doing.

PVC and laminated Teslin cards can come in a several thicknesses. If you are are looking for a short term use card, then PVC may work. A laminated paper card would also work in this situation (and probably be cheaper than PVC). Laminated paper cards won't last for years like laminated Teslin cards, but you can still get a durable, sturdy card that will last as long as PVC.

20 mil cards offer an alternative to the 30 mil product if price is an issue. A 20 mil laminated Teslin card has awesome durability, but comes a little easier on the pocketbook. 20 mil PVC cards are also an option. You must be careful though. The thinner a PVC card is, the more likely it is to break or crack. 

Another alternative which shouldn't technically be on this site about printing plastic cards is a paper card. Sometimes a card is a single use tool (like a coupon, or phone card) and only needs to last a few days or weeks.  While these cards won't last long at all, they can serve a purpose for a budget-minded buyer or for a specific need. 

When buying cards, you should ask your salesperson which thickness of card they recommend for your end-use. Don't let them steer you into their highest priced item. Come to Card Guru and let me tell you what's best.

Cheers!

Card Guru

Teslin Laminated Cards vs. PVC

Teslin laminated cards (pronounced Tez-lin) are the main competition to PVC cards. PVC cards are what most people are used to. They are what credit cards are made out of. Many, many millions of PVC cards are sold each year. They look very nice and are usually very cheap. Hence, its what you see everywhere.

Teslin cards are somewhat newer and definitely not as prolific as its competitor. They often cost more than PVC cards, but last much longer. Your usage is what will determine which type you should use.

If you need a throw away cheap card meant to last a few months at the most, then PVC is likely for you. If you want a loyalty card or membership card that is meant to last for years, then the Teslin laminated card is a better fit.

The reason Teslin cards are so much more long lasting than PVC is that Teslin is a synthetic substrate that can be printed on with fantastic results. The Teslin is then laminated with heavy duty laminate. The Teslin literally bonds directly to the laminate and makes a card that is exactly the same thickness as the cheap PVC cards.

But since the printed artwork (and usually a barcode for customer identification) is under the laminate, it stays intact for years. I've put Teslin cards in a cup of water and left them there for months. When I pulled them out, they were like new. No fading. No de-lamination.

• Teslin and PVC meet ISO, ANSI, and ABA standards for transaction cards.
• Teslin and PVC can be cut with steel rule dies or with male-female dies. The quality of the cut depends on  the quality of the card manufacturer.
• Teslin and PVC can both be printed with very high quality results.
• Teslin and PVC can both have magnetic stripes applied. Different processes for each, but virtually the same result.
• Teslin cards will never crack. PVC cards can crack.
• Governments around the world are restricting use of PVC. Many companies are voluntarily eliminating PVC from their products. It is very toxic to the environment.
• Teslin is a synthetic material. Not plastic, so not oil base. Not paper, so no tree killing. It is laminated with a polyester film. Much more environmentally friendly than PVC.

Teslin is a non-cellulose, non-toxic recyclable material that by weight is 65% inorganic filler (silica - derived from sand). When Teslin makes its way to a landfill (as everything eventually does), there is nothing to leach into the groundwater since it is mostly made up of sand. PPG makes Teslin and states that Teslin "incinerates in an atmosphere of excess oxygen to yield only water, CO2, energy, and a clean ash."

Each option has some benefits. If cost is your only concern, then PVC is likely the way to go. Though the Teslin card makers have been more and more aggressive in their pricing lately, so that's not even a given anymore. If a long lasting card that is eco-friendly sounds like something you might be interested in, then Teslin may be the way to go. 

I hope this Teslin Laminated Cards vs. PVC debate has helped you in your decision.

Membership Cards

Membership cards are growing in popularity. As it happens the American economy is spiraling down right now and this creates a fantastic opportunity for those that are open to it. While some companies are scrambling to find new customers, the smart money is on the businesses that spend a small amount of money retaining the customers they've already got.

It costs a fortune to advertise, and market to, and convince new people to spend money at your place of business. And while everyone wants to grow their business, if all you're doing is replacing lost business with new business, you aren't growing at all.

Adding a membership card to your business model is one of the most cost-effective ways to add customer loyalty and if you throw in a few inconsequential benefits, you'll have an extremely pleased customer base as well. You can also advertise the benefits of using your membership program to new customers, too.

So what kind of membership card should you get?

Membership cards themselves can take many forms. It depends on whether you want to have customers fill out an application, then somehow assign a card number to that application. There are generally three ways to accomplish this task.

1. Have your plastic card manufacturer build a card with a barcode on it and apply a removable label to the card. Then they run this card through a second piece of equipment that scans the barcode on the card and prints the same barcode on the removable label - MOST RISK
2. Have your plastic card manufacturer build a card with a barcode on it and have them affix (or tip) the card  directly to an application. During the application process, the barcode on the card is scanned and instantly printed on the application. - LESS RISK
3. Have your plastic card manufacturer build a card with a barcode on it BUT also with a Teslin label built right into the card. Then you simply peel the label from the card and manually affix it to your application. - ZERO RISK

This third option is clearly the safest option. However only Teslin card manufacturers can offer this feature. In fact, only one company in particular offers it, but that's topic for another day.

Another benefit of the Teslin membership card is the ability cut the card into virtually any shape. If you want to stand out from your competition with a unique shape, Telslin is probably the way to go.

It occurs to me that many of you probably don't know the difference between PVC and Teslin cards. I'll discuss that in the next post.

Printing Plastic Cards - An Introduction

Plastic cards are everywhere. There are quality cards... and sub-quality cards. There are cheap cards... and there are less than cheap cards. This site still focus on all aspects of plastic cards:

• How to know what to look for in a good plastic card
• What to look for in a  good plastic card manufacturer
• Understanding the difference in all of these different kinds of cards
• Why you should purchase Teslin cards over a PVC cards
• Price vs Performance
• Why you need a loyalty card for your business
• Which kinds of cards are the most envrionmentally friendly
• And on, and on, and on...

There are tons and tons of things to consider when you are looking for a quality card manufacturer. If you've been around the block before, you may be familiar with some of these questions. You may have figured out some of the answers. But I bet you could still learn a few things from an insider. Like me.

If you are new to the card biz, I can teach you all kinds of things that you'll never learn anywhere else. How can I do that? Because I don't sell the cards. I'm an independent source of good information for everyone out there looking for information.

Loyalty Cards

The loyalty card market is booming. No matter what the economy is doing, all companies want to reinforce customer loyalty and the loyalty card / membership card is key to doing just that. Starting up a loyalty card program is critical to your continuing success.

Times are tough right now. There are options for folks looking for a cheaper option. Most of the big-time companies all want the "shopper card"... essentially a unit consisting of a card (the technical name is CR-80) and two keytags. If you can't afford this option, you can get just the CR-80, or just the keytags, or just one keytag, or any combination of items you want.

Oddly enough, the most important part of the loyalty card program has very little to do with the card itself. We'll get more into that in another post. We can't cover every aspect at once.

For now, just realize that you've found the best, HONEST source of information about the card market. I'll work to answer any questions you may have. I'll also work to provide a valuable source of information about printing plastic cards that you'll come to over and over again.

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Card Guru

Welcome to Printing Plastic Cards Center

Welcome to Printing Plastic Cards Center. This site provides all the knowledge you need to know about printing plastic cards, purchasing loyalty cards, or brushing up on your knowledge of anything in the laminated card industry. If you have questions not covered in Printing Plastic Cards Center, please feel free to post your question below.


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Cheers!


Card Guru